| (a) Criteria for taking action. The action the commissioner
of education takes under §100.1021(a) of this title (relating
to Revocation and Modification of Governance of an Open-Enrollment
Charter) to either revoke or modify the governance of a charter shall
be based on the best interest of the charter school's students as
it relates to the violation charged in the notice, the severity of
the violation, and any previous violation the school has committed.
(1) These criteria are not listed in order of importance.
Rather, the commissioner shall assign weight to each criterion as
indicated by the facts of the case presented. For example, serious
or persistent charter violations may warrant revocation or non-renewal
even if the violations benefited or had neutral effect on the students
enrolled in the charter school. The state's interest in legal compliance
is sufficient basis for action.
(2) The "best interest of the charter school's students"
is not a decisional criterion independent of the violation charged
in the notice. Rather, the commissioner shall consider the best interests
of students only as this criterion relates to the violation charged
in the notice. For example, evidence of serious and persistent violations
in one area of performance may not be offset or excused by evidence
of benefit to students in an area of performance that is unrelated
to the violation charged in the notice.
(b) Minimum academic performance required. Continuation
of an open-enrollment charter is contingent on satisfactory academic
performance as measured by the academic accountability ratings and
accreditation statuses assigned under the Texas Education Code (TEC),
Chapter 39, as well as any supplemental accountability requirements
in the open-enrollment charter pursuant to TEC, §12.111(a)(3)
and (4). Such supplemental requirements are in addition to, and may
not supplant, satisfactory academic performance as measured by the
ratings assigned under TEC, Chapter 39.
(1) Consideration of campus ratings. The commissioner
shall revoke an open-enrollment charter of a charter holder if all
of the campuses operated under that charter have been closed under
TEC, Chapter 39.
(2) Determination of academic performance. For purposes
of this subsection, required minimum academic performance shall be
determined as follows.
(A) An "unsatisfactory rating" shall mean an academic
accountability rating that is "academically unacceptable" as defined
in §100.1001(26) of this title (relating to Definitions). For
any school year, if the Texas Education Agency (TEA) assigns no district-level
ratings to open-enrollment charter schools generally, but does assign
campus-level ratings in that year, then unsatisfactory ratings for
a majority of the campuses operated by the charter holder in such
year shall constitute an unsatisfactory rating for the charter holder
at the "district" level.
(B) A "satisfactory rating" shall mean an academic
accountability rating that is "academically acceptable" as defined
in §100.1001(26) of this title.
(C) Ratings are "consecutive" if they are not separated
by a rating period in which the TEA assigned accountability ratings
to charter schools. For example, the TEA did not assign academic accountability
ratings to charter schools for the 2011-2012 school year. Thus, the
ratings for the 2010-2011 and 2012-2013 school years are consecutive
both for charter holders registered under the standard accountability
system as well as charter holders registered under the alternative
education accountability (AEA) system.
(D) If the performance of an applicant for renewal
under §100.1031 of this title (relating to Renewal of an Open-Enrollment
Charter) cannot be determined because the applicant's charter school
has not received accountability ratings and/or accreditation statuses
for a sufficient number of years to support a judgment on its student
performance:
(i) the commissioner shall make a decision on student
performance under the discretionary review process under §100.1031(d)
of this title; and
(ii) the commissioner's review under this subparagraph
shall include the charter's annual evaluation under the Charter School
Performance Framework Manual established under TEC, §12.1181,
and the criteria described in §100.1032 of this title (relating
to Standards for Discretionary Renewal).
(E) If the performance of a charter holder cannot be
determined because the small numbers of students or the grade levels
served by the program prevented, limited, or significantly impacted
the application of the TEA's standard ratings and/or accreditation
criteria, then the commissioner may evaluate substitute data chosen
by the commissioner in taking action under this section.
(i) Based on evaluation under this subparagraph, the
commissioner shall determine whether the applicant has demonstrated
a history of unsatisfactory academic performance. Any appeal under §100.1021
of this title of a determination under this clause may include the
question whether the campus has had unsatisfactory academic performance.
(ii) Regardless of whether the campus has satisfactory
student performance, the commissioner may modify the open-enrollment
charter to require the charter holder to serve additional students
or grade levels that will cause the campus to receive academic ratings
and/or statuses in the future.
(F) If the performance of a charter holder cannot be
determined because a high proportion of students served are in prekindergarten-Grade
2 or another grade for which an assessment instrument is not administered
under TEC, §39.023, then the commissioner may evaluate the performance
of the charter holder.
(3) Finality of ratings.
(A) Any appeal to a specific rating must be brought
using the appeals procedures in the relevant accountability manual,
which includes alternative education accountability, adopted under
Chapter 97, Subchapter AA, of this title (relating to Accountability
and Performance Monitoring).
(B) Any challenge to a TEA rule, ratings standard,
or process must be brought using the procedures outlined in Texas
Government Code, Chapter 2001, for requesting agency rulemaking or
challenging agency rules.
(c) Minimum financial performance required. Continuation
of an open-enrollment charter is contingent on the charter holder
satisfying generally accepted accounting standards of fiscal management.
(1) Determination. For purposes of this subsection,
generally accepted standards of fiscal management shall be determined
as follows.
(A) Any of the following constitutes failure to comply
with generally accepted standards of fiscal management.
(i) Payment is made in excess of bonafide compensation
agreements. The payment of compensation to an individual in excess
of the fair market value of the services provided is a serious unsatisfactory
financial performance. For purposes of this subsection, the fair market
value of the services rendered shall be based on the individual's
education, experience, prior salary history, the job duties actually
performed, and what a typical person with similar skills, experience,
and job duties would earn.
(ii) Rental or purchase of property is in excess of
its fair market value.
(iii) The charter school received a significant overallocation
from the Foundation School Program based on data reported by the charter
holder.
(iv) The charter school becomes imminently insolvent
as determined in subsection (h) of this section.
(v) The charter school's financial auditor issues an
adverse opinion regarding the school's financial statements or the
school's financial auditor disclaims an opinion on the financial statements,
and the issue resulting in the adverse or disclaimed opinion involves
a significant amount of financial resources that were not properly
documented or a material weakness that led to the misallocation of
financial resources.
(vi) The charter holder exhibits other instances of
fiscal mismanagement, including, but not limited to, the loss of financial
records or a material non-compliance with §109.41 of this title
(relating to Financial Accountability System Resource Guide) or related
supplement resulting in a significant wasting of financial resources.
(vii) A final investigative report issued by the TEA
finds material noncompliance with the standards of this subsection.
(viii) The annual audit report required by TEC, §44.008,
is more than 180 days delinquent.
(ix) The charter holder's property is subject to a
lien, levy, or other garnishment and that lien, levy, or other garnishment
is not removed within 30 days.
(x) The charter holder is subject to a warrant hold
and that warrant hold is not removed within 30 days.
(xi) The charter holder loses its eligibility to participate
in child nutrition programs for a period of more than 30 days.
Cont'd... |
